I got interested in stacking precious metals in mid-2015 when two very significant political events happened around the same time which led me to an important realisation.
I realised that the debts of Western governments around the world will NEVER be paid off due to it being too unpopular to cut deficit spending. Politicians in democratic nations like winning elections and that generally means spending lots of money on stuff that they think voters want. They only ever have 3 or 4 year terms anyway, so they can buy up the votes and let the next poor sap deal with the bill they rack up. It’s now a well-worn playbook and the national debts around the Western world are only getting bigger from here - just take a look at North America and Europe on this map :-
Source
I starting trying to figure out where all this unchecked deficit spending was going to lead us because it didn’t seem sustainable. Spiralling global debt? Didn't we learn anything from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008? Apparently not. I discovered the situation is even worse than back then, the debt is bigger, everything is over-leveraged and under-capitalised. The financial system is totally integrated and all these banks are co-dependant to the point where if a big one goes down….they will fall like dominoes….
Source
In my mind it now wasn’t a question of IF the current financial system will fail, but WHEN. I wanted to get out of the system and so I started looking at alternative “off grid” ways of storing wealth so that I could protect my family’s future. That’s when I found the first community of stackers that helped me along the way at www.silverstackers.com. It was here I was introduced to stacking precious metals and I met a lot of like-minded and similarly concerned people who were happy to bring me up to speed. This was a community of Australians and New Zealanders who became almost a second home to me online. I could discuss politics and economics here and it was a great place for me to buy and sell precious metals peer-to-peer on the secondary market with NO FEES or middle-men involved. I am forever grateful to those helpful guys and girls who helped set me on this path.
This community first introduced me to cryptocurrencies and seeing the potential of building some alternatives to the current financial system I became a full on crypto enthusiast trying to learn everything I could. Finally I stumbled across STEEM and even though I was never big on social networks, once I decided to get involved on Steemit I was hooked.
It wasn’t long until I came across the #SteemSilverGold group on Steemit and it immediately felt very familiar to me. It was basically the same sort of people I’d been collaborating with on www.silverstackers.com for the last 2 years, but this was a global group and one which was a bit more crypto savvy. I could immediately see the potential synergy between the two communities but up until this point they seemed to be totally unaware of each other.
When the discussion started about producing the STEEM silver coin I knew straight away that this was an opportunity to try and make a connection between these two communities so I volunteered to do a group buy on behalf of the Australians. I posted my intention up on www.silverstackers.com and I was overwhelmed with the response.
It has taken a little while, but I finally took delivery of the 150 coin order and sorted them all to match the certifications, spreading them out on my office coffee table. It’s not a great picture but it was pretty cool seeing them laid out like this.
It was a bit of work figuring out all the postage options, sorting out all the payments and getting them all packaged up with tracking numbers and signatures required etc. I have to give lots of thanks to my darling wife for helping me out with pulling it together.
Anyway, I am pleased to say that the coins are on their way and all I have to do now is pray to the postage gods that everything arrives on time and in one piece. I am appreciative of all the supportive comments and the few generous people who threw in the odd tip. I didn’t do this to try and make a profit though, it was all done at cost as my hope is only that these two great communities that I am now part of will become more aware of each other and perhaps support each other.
Images and Credits
http://www.ibtimes.com
https://www.theodysseyonline.com
http://knowyourmeme.com
https://www.brainyquote.com
https://www.silverstackers.com
https://www.nirandfar.com
Great post (as always) B.
Most certainly just a question of WHEN mate?
There is a reason our banks are trying to offload as many divisions as they can... Westpac selling down of major stake in BT; CBA sells CommInsure with its wealth divisions next to go; ANZ sells Onepath and is looking to sell its ANZ Share Investing (formerly e*Trade).
And it's not just what they are doing - it is what they are saying:
Ian Narev CBA CEO said back in Feburary:
“risk of market volatility, and indeed economic shock, remains heightened”.
“We will continue to manage our balance sheet, and our expenditure, conservatively." (1)
The financial system is stuffed and our head bankers know it. They are preparing for a major SHTF event. And who will be left holding the bag... the superannuation fund managers who care about just one thing (FUM - funds under management). In other words... hard working Mum's and Dad's are going to get hammered.
And SirKnight is not talking about some girly hammer for knocking in thumb tacks. SirKnight is talking a 20 pound sledge hammer to the retirement nest egg.
'When' remains the question - but with S&P 500 trading at a $31 Shiller PE ratio - http://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe/ it can't be long now.
Glad to see you buying up silver in conjunction with SSG. There has always been a bond between our two great communities - glad to see it getting stronger.
SirKnight.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/ian-narev-unveils-a-record-profit-for-commonwealth-bank-and-calls-for-corporate-tax-cuts/news-story/3d5c1209012fb2db48516e14353bab01
Thanks SK. This is a great comment! You should make a proper post out of this material. Very interesting stuff and I am sure that in your line of work you'd have some valuable insights.
The countries with its' temporary leaders will always do good just for themself and humble and honest people like us will always took the shortest straw.
And you are doing a great job. I know how important is the support from others when you are new in something. So I'm glad you all keep a good spirit and have hope in Steemit comunity.
Thanks @emmamia. As Lord Acton once said "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" The self-serving of politicians and bankers is something we have come to expect and even been conditioned to in the West.
It is one of the reasons why I think we need to decentralise our power and wealth, so that corruption can be defeated. Blockchain technology might just allow us to do that!
I like and agree with the way you think! Hopefully more and more people will follow this stream and we will manage to do that!
I need to also give credit to @phelimint and @sevinwilson for putting the STEEM coin together and of course @bearone who came up with the awesome design for the coin - check out her unboxing HERE and if that doesn't make you smile then you're made of stone! :)
When I wrote this post I was just focusing on the communities as a whole and my own personal journey as a stacker, but there were some very special individuals involved along the way that need to be recognised and commended.
Collaborate effort makes the coin even cooler! They did a tremendous job
Group Hug!!! 💚💚💚
I know how huge an undertaking doing a mail out is. From getting things sorted to matching up payments and writing out all the addresses and then waiting hoping everything get to everyone.... Your wife is a gem! And you're both total legends for doing this for all of us 💚
Thank you also for inviting me to join www.silverstackers.com - they have been so nice and welcoming to me and I mean to explore the site further when I get the chance.
Thanks @bearone so far so good with the deliveries and no complaints :)
One thing you can do on www.silverstackers.com is leave me some trader feedback. It's a reputation based system so trader feedback is the best way to tell someone is reliable to buy or sell with. Cheers!
on it now mate! i got you!
Great post mate - as I've come to expect! Thanks so much for organising the coins.... and to the wifey for helping :) I'm off down to the PO now. I have a package apparently lol! We are not really stackers - but we do have a nice collection over the years.
I recall in 2000 my boss at the time laughing at me buying gold around $270 as back then it was dropping he said it would never get over $300 - wonder how his shares are doing? I wonder if he's heard of crypto yet :)
Thanks Shelly. When you say "We are not really stackers - but we do have a nice collection over the years." all I can think is that you must be in denial! LOL :)
You only need 2 pieces of silver with one sitting on top of the others and you have a stack in the making. Everyone has got to start somewhere!
Sounds like your old boss might have been a bit of a goose. If he is someone who laughs at others investment choices he's probably still stuck in the herd with all the other sheeple and would have got hit hard in the GFC.
I better check the safe and see if they are sitting on top of each other then lol
Fantastic writeup @buggedout. It describes a very similar journey to mine and I'm obviously attracted to the Aussie spin and a healthy distrust (of not hatred) of the financial sector.
Your philanthropic work with the bulk stem coin buy is undeniable and you should be commended along with your wife of course.
Keep up the fantastic work and the sensible path you're walking down.
Best wishes to you. Resteemed.
Thanks @nolnocluap. In hindsight it is funny that when I first had my "Awakening" back in 2015 I thought I was the only one who cared about this stuff and it was quite dark and lonely for me for a while there. But when I found SilverStackers and now coming to Steemit I can see there are a lot of us here who feel and think similarly. The support and altruism I've found in these communities is very encouraging :)
Thanks for the Resteem too. I really appreciate it!
My pleasure mate and yes it can feel like a sole cause at times, even when considering the online support.
Wow that's a lot of silver. Yeah the debt is crazy, but who is going to force anyone to pay there debt? What good does it do bankrupting a country? You just loose all your "customers". There will come a point thought, probably once China gains enough power, that someone will start wanting to collect on the debts they're owed.
The banks will demand payment.
Take a look at the struggles of Greece. It came to a head when debt repayments were due and they almost defaulted. The interest on the debt might be manageable while interest rates are low....but when interest rates go up we might find much of our tax dollars that should be spent on services and infrastructure is instead being spent to service the existing debt - providing NO VALUE to tax payers. These debts are intertwined with our super funds and bank accounts who are invested in government bonds (debt) so if there is a default on it then peoples life savings can and will be lost.
It's so awesome to be making those connections man, I do hope more silver stackers start finding there way over here.
Thanks again for taking the reigns on the group buy I appreciate it was massive but it's great to see these rounds going into more people hands!
No worries. It was a bit stressful at points but now that it's all sorted I'm happy and I hope it's been worthwhile for everyone. There are a few deliveries I've yet to confirm but all the feedback I've got so far is good so the people over at www.silverstackers.com are happy.
Have you seen the latest APRA proposed legislative changes for financial crisis management tools aka bail-in?
There's a very good video by Citizen's Electoral Council Australia on this and Glass-Steagall, it and many more like it are released regularly on their YT channel here:
Happy stackin', if you bug out remember where you buried it, thanks for the article, the cross promotion, and thank your mum for the rabbits ;)
I hadn't seen that video, but thanks for sharing.
I was aware that bail-ins were being pushed globally and I understand how they will be used and what that means. Didn't realise the legislation was on the table in Australia though. It'll be important for us to knock it down and it'll be interesting to see if the Labor crooks will oppose it after making lots of noise about an inquiry into the banks in recent times....
I believe the basic bail-in framework was discussed and agreed at the G20 in Brisbane a couple of years back.
Top effort, mate.
So roughly 20% of the 1500 coins have ended up in Australia or New Zealand.
Per capita, we're smashing it :)
Aussies once again punching above their wieght!😁
Thanks @mattclarke
Indeed it looks like we might be the clever countries after all ;)
G'day Mate! After reading this article I reckon we're both on the same page.
A good spread of Silver, Gold & Cryptos should soften the blow when the big Crunch comes.
I like the was you describe them as - “off grid” ways of storing wealth.
Anyway, as you know, my coins arrived today.
I didn't realise just how many you had to deal with! Give the Missus a big peck on the cheek from me for helping out.
Once again, Thanks, I really appreciate your effort.
No worries @plumey. In the end it was a pleasure dealing with fair dinkum champions like yourself. Glad to hear the coins arrived in good nick. I think the missus will be wanting a pound of flesh from me but maybe I can just take her out for dinner ;)
Loved this!
Cheers buggedout! The next forseeable future looks pretty damn exciting 'round here.
👊😎
Thanks @thedamus certainly hope everything is onward and upward from here.
To infinity and beyond!
I really like this post man! I been collecting silver I don't have a lot but what I do have I love.In the usa they used to back there paper notes with silver as well as having coins that were 80% silver I was wondering a couple of things what are your views on "junk silver" and are you exclusively into art rounds or any bullion? last question are there links to buy the steem silver rounds do you have any for sale? funny way I got into coins was I used to do coin tricks and the Morgan silvers were perfect palming size for me.
Thanks @user0103283 good to hear you've got a bit of a stack. It's not how big it is thats important, it's what you do with it ;)
I personally am not a huge fan of junk silver, but plenty like it. For me it needs to be refined to have value as a metal and thats always an extra cost so I'd price it below spot. I like semi-numismatic series, like the Perth Mint or Chinese Pandas and low premium rounds that are like 9999 silver.
I usually don't go for art rounds or high-premium stuff but this STEEM coin is a commemorative one that I couldn't pass up :)
I think for me junk silver was my gateway drug a couple of Morgans still have a place in my heart cowboy dollars lol then a Mercury dime and a buffalo nickel but that led to sunshine mint and I have a few Perth was collecting the Aussie animals.do you think steemit silver ounces are still for sale ?
Nah, the STEEM silver coins are sold out and had a limited mintage of 1500. You might find a few people giving them away as prizes or flipping them for a few extra dollars. Check out #SteemSilverGold tag and you might see some there.
Otherwise, there's always next year :)
I find this publication interesting and great with all your approach and proposal. But, given my ignorance and the fact of living in Venezuela, my big question will be how can I do from my country to organize with other people and you for the stacking of silver coins, whether STEEM or any other? I have the motivation, but I do not know what to do, you can give me at least a couple of suggestions. Thanks in advance...
It sounds really tough in Venezuela right now so you have my sincerest condolensces. It is a real world and current example of what can go wrong when governments manage things badly. I don't really know what is legal there as my expectation is that socialist/communist governments will inevitably charge people with "hoarding" and so you might risk confiscation of wealth if you are too high profile and people know you're stacking. Theft would also be a big risk as people get desperate and crime goes up.
I would suggest having a read of the material of both communities because there is a lot you can learn. It might be hard moving silver around without using black markets so I would probably look more to using crypto in your circumstances. Keep your head down, stay safe and hopefully ride out the storm with your wealth intact. Good luck!
It's crazy, your story of getting involved in silver and then cryptos remind me of a similar transition I had...
Back when I was fighting for my sovereign inalienable rights, you know, standing up to police, causing a stir in the courtroom and riding without a helmet. Well, it wasn't all bafoonery, I learned allot.
Then I discovered how powerful it really is to vote with your dollar.
It's pretty tough taking on the state and it's something I hope I never have to do myself because they run a very sophisticated racket. Very hard for an individual to take them on and win.
I'm not a part of any group or community but I share the sentiment and ideal. For now I'm just buying the Perth Mint silver kangaroos when I can.
Sounds like you are a budding stacker to me. There are no restrictions on joining either community so feel free to get involved. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience in both communities!
When it all fails is the big question.
When people ask me precious metals or cryptos, I always say both.
Yep, its the safest and the best answer :)
You got my vote and a resteem :)
Thanks @taylor.swift I really appreciate that! :)
It takes a good company of friends to lead you to good paths all thanks to them.Association is vital in one's life thanks for your motivation
img credz: pixabay.com
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